On July 2nd 2010, in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, a crossbar denied Ghana from making history and becoming the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. 

'Heroes, Handballs and Heartache' is the story of Ghana at the 2010 World Cup. Join Paul and a panel of fantastic guests for a nostalgic journey which details the highs and lows of an epic campaign featuring passion, penalties and pain. 

When Asamoah Gyan's stoppage time penalty crashed off of the bar, it brought a close to one of the longest running heavyweight rivalries in football history - Ghanaian footballers versus crossbars. From Tony Yeboah's thunderous strikes in the mid-90s, to Michael Essien's Champions League haymaker against Barcelona, Ghanaian footballers have been going toe to toe with the woodwork- in a slugfest akin to Ali versus Frazier or Fury versus Wilder. But sadly, it was that crossbar in Johannesburg which struck the knockout blow in this titanic battle. Join us to relive the story of Ghana's World Cup journey, and how it was ultimately ended by a combination of the second coming of the hand of god, and a defiant piece of woodwork. 

This episode is from our My Football Stories series, brought to you by My Football Heroes Podcast, with contributions from Ibrahim Mustapha (author of 'No Longer Naïve - African Football's Growing Impact at the World Cup), Roland (Pros Only Sports), Abid Imam (Freo de Janeiro), Richard Amponsah (Eagle-Eyed Football), K Sarps (Ball and Banter Podcast) and Coach Kojo (3 in Midfield/The Match Report). 

Written by Paul Bacon. Artwork by Adam Burton. Music by HoliznaCCO. Created by My Football Heroes Podcast. 

Please take the time to subscribe, rate and review and follow us on Instagram @myfootballheroespodcast  

For my about our contributors: 

Ibrahim Mustapha - @ibstagram3000 @myrandomfootball 

Get ‘No Longer Naïve - African Football's Growing Impact at the World Cup’ 

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/no-longer-naive 

Roland - @prosonlysports_  

https://www.youtube.com/c/ProsOnlySports 

Abid Imam - @freodejaneiro 

http://abidimam.com/  

Richard Amponsah - @eagleeyedfootball_ 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Y9s7oua1gNoy-jJjqjSRQ  

K Sarps - @ksarps_bnb @ball_and_banter 

https://open.spotify.com/show/00cIYbSerkT11JbYCGRGHu  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_d9jnnTdxAoReNZUkW8xDw  

Kojo - @coach_kojob @3inMidfield 

https://www.youtube.com/c/3inMidfieldPodcast  

https://open.spotify.com/show/5IIFcWyISqIYMnntM6wpVw  

Artwork by @adamburtonart

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